Mike Hughes: Huge audience awaits Superbowl

TONIGHT’S MUST-SEE: “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Seth Meyers has been on “SNL” for 12-plus years; he’s been a head writer for eight years, the “Weekend Update” anchor for seven-plus. He’s created everything from past Sarah Palin sketches to current bits with grumpy critic Jebediah Atkinson. He’s had moments of sheer brilliance. Now Meyers has his final “Update.” Melissa McCarthy hosts, with music by Imagine Dragons.

TONIGHT’S MIGHT-SEE: “Blades of Glory” (2007), 8-10 p.m., ABC. On Thursday, real figure-skaters will start competing in the Winter Olympics. First, here’s some silliness. Will Ferrell and Jon Heder play dueling skaters, reluctantly becoming the first guy-guy duo. The result is wildly inconsistent — did we mention it’s a Ferrell film? — but the routines are hilarious.

TONIGHT’S ALTERNATIVE: “And the Oscar Goes To …,” 8-9:45 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Over the next month, TCM will fill each prime time with Oscar-winners. First, it has this dandy documentary, racing through Oscar history via great clips and comments. It includes moments that were weird, wretched (blacklisting) and controversial. It also reminds us that at times — but not often lately — there have been acceptance speeches and introductions worth catching.

Other choices include:

“Remember Sunday” (2013), 7-9 p.m., Hallmark; repeats at 10. Clinging to shards of his memory, a jewelry-store clerk uses written notes to survive. Now he grasps for romance, in a sweetly moving film that stars Zachary Levy and Alexis Bledel.

“Best of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. When the Olympics end, Fallon will take over “Tonight,” the semi-sacred land of Carson, Paar and Leno. First, here are highlights from his late-night show … which will now go to Meyers.

“NFL Honors,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. On the Super Bowl eve, Alec Baldwin hosts a tribute to pro football’s best. There are awards for most valuable player and coach-of-the-year, plus Hall of Fame inductees.

“Stan Lee’s Mighty 7,” 8 p.m. ET, Hub. Imagine that the comic-book master met real aliens with superpowers. Lee, 91, voices himself in this cartoon, with lines that are sometimes too jokey. Overall, however, this is a fairly good adventure.

When Calls the Heart,” 9 p.m., Hallmark. Cat is suspected of being the arsonist.

“Saturday Night Live,” 10 p.m., NBC. Here’s a shortened rerun of last week’s show, with Jonah Hill as host and Bastille as music guest. Some so-so sketches come early, with a hilarious one at the end.

“Gone With the Wind” (1939), 10 p.m., TCM. The Oscar month starts with one of the greats.

Sunday

TONIGHT’S MUST-SEE: Super Bowl, 3:30 p.m., Fox. Here’s a classic battle of opposites: A veteran quarterback (Peyton Manning, 37, of the Denver Broncos) who stands back and fires … a youngster (Russell Wilson, 25, of the Seattle Seahawks) who scrambles. Manning threw 55 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions in the regular season; Wilson had 26 and 9. Then again, Wilson runs for over 500 yards a season, Manning for less than 50. Add tough defenses, solid running (plus commercials and a Bruno Mars/Red Hot Chili Peppers halftime) and it’s a fun night.

TONIGHT’S MUST-SEE II: “Masterpiece,” 9 and 9:58 p.m., PBS. While others duck a Super Bowl confrontation, PBS pushes ahead with its best work. At 9:58 is the last of this season’s three episodes of the oft-brilliant “Sherlock”; Holmes faces a master blackmailer. And at 9, “Downton Abbey” has another night of elegant soap opera. Downstairs, there are turning points for Alfred (the would-be chef) and Molesley (the jobless footman); also, Bates and Anna strain for a fresh start. Upstairs, there’s agony for Edith, a dispute between dowagers … and a birthday surprise for Robert, from his young houseguest Rose.

AMC also has a marathon, but not a cute one: From 10 a.m. to 6 a.m., it has the first two seasons of “The Walking Dead.” There’s another marathon next weekend, leading into the mid-season premiere next Sunday.

Other choices include:

Pre-game shows, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fox. The annual “Road to the Super Bowl” is at 9 a.m., followed by “Football America: Our Story” at 1 and the studio show at 11 a.m.

More pre-game, about 3 p.m. Opera star Renee Fleming sings the National Anthem backed up by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, with Queen Latifah doing “America the Beautiful.” There’s also a Declaration of Independence film, a coin toss and more.

“The Good Wife,” 8 p.m., CBS. A night of CBS reruns starts with Alicia learning she’s been spied on through her own computer. That’s followed by “The Mentalist” at 9 and “NCIS” at 10.

“Girls” and “Looking,” 10 and 10:30 p.m., HBO. Most of cable’s key shows skip Super Bowl Sunday. HBO has “This is 40” (2012) at 7:40 p.m., resting the brilliant “True Detective”; it does, however, have these two. “Girls” has a surprising downer, as Hannah’s world crumbles; “Looking” (set among gays in San Francisco) also goes grim, with job setbacks, before offering glimmers of hope in the final minutes.

“New Girl,” 10:30 p.m. or later, Fox. Jess and Cece are invited to a party at Prince’s mansion. Naturally, the guys try to slip in.